Your Garden Can Help Wildlife!

Now that spring is well on its way, many of us are looking to get started on the season’s gardening so that we can enjoy a beautiful outdoor space all summer. You can get your backyard ready for yourself and help wildlife at the same time this spring with these simple tips from the Wildlife Rescue team!

First, this weekend is looking like a great time to start trimming hedges and shrubs. Few species will have started nesting at this point, so you’re less at risk of disturbing a nest. Hummingbirds do settle down early, so be on the lookout for their little nests. Any cut branches you’ve left behind might then be snatched up to help build a comfortable home for other birds.

You may be tempted to keep going and start raking all those fallen leaves, but here’s a great excuse to put it off a little longer! Pollinators like bees and butterflies will overwinter under piles of insulating leaves. Wait until temperatures are consistently 10 degrees Celsius or higher before cleaning up to give these beneficial insects time to wake up for spring.

When it’s time to get planting, focus on native species for your balcony or yard. These species help feed hummingbirds and berry eaters, so your greenspace can support their foraging. As an added bonus, you’ll attract more wildlife visitors to your yard without needing to maintain a feeder.

In BC, plant native species, like…

• White Fawn Lily
• Salmonberry
• Osoberry
• Red-Flowering Currant
• Native Columbines
• Lupines
• Pacific Bleeding Heart

As always, thank you for looking out for your local wildlife!

Posted in Education, Resources
Tags: bc birds, bc hummingbirds, biodiversity, conservation wildlife, save your local wildlife, wildlife, wildlife rescue bc, your local wildlife